


Don't Wanna Know (Bout that Love Thing)

by slex (slexenskee)



Series: Overworld #8 [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, crawlersout au, shout out to all my teachers, you guys deserve the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23331340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slexenskee/pseuds/slex
Summary: Gellert decides to spontaneously drop in on Tom's parent teacher conferences.
Relationships: Gellert Grindelwald/Harry Potter
Series: Overworld #8 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574254
Comments: 22
Kudos: 450





	Don't Wanna Know (Bout that Love Thing)

**Author's Note:**

> for anon who requested an outsiders look at Harry and Gellert! If you have any prompts you want filled, my twitter inbox is open~ dm me @slexenskee, same name as my penname!

Professor Caithe looked wearily between the two adults seated across from her, wondering if there really was enough tension between the two to cut with a knife, or if she was just projecting. It was hard to say, because the two looked perfectly perfunctory and had been nothing but polite to both each other and to her since they’d walked into her office, but she couldn’t help but feel there was something  _ off  _ about it. As if they were actors in a play trying too hard to impress their director.

At any rate, she supposed it was none of her business. 

Miss Harry Riddle was Tom’s guardian, and had every right to be here attending his parent-teacher conference meeting. 

If she chooses to have the most terrifying Dark Lord in history to attend with her, then, well, who is Professor Caithe to get in the way of that?

“Thank you— um, both of you— for coming,” she begins, awkwardly. 

She’s not entirely sure how to address them. Normally when a man and a woman walk into her office for a parent teacher conference, she addresses them together, because they are usually a husband and wife coming in to discuss their shared progeny. 

As far as she was aware, Miss Potter and Lord Grindelwald were most certainly not married, or ‘together’. She would have heard so in the papers, at the very least. She can’t imagine a man with as much notoriety as the Dark Lord getting away with a secret marriage and love child. And beyond that, Miss Potter was too young to be Tom’s biological mother. Or perhaps… perhaps Tom really was his son, and Harry was raising him? However, they didn’t look very much alike. To that end though, neither did Tom and Harry, and she would never dare to ask how they were related. That seemed rather impolite. 

Oh, for Circe’s sake, she’s an  _ educator,  _ not a  _ gossip rag.  _ Whatever reasons Miss Potter has for inviting Lord Grindelwald to her ward’s teacher meeting is purely her own.

“Oh, it’s really not a problem.” Miss Potter replies, with a cheery smile. “I’ve been looking forward to it, in fact. Tom so rarely talks about his schooling, so it’s nice to get a little peek into his world.”

The Dark Lord nods along. “Yes,  _ we  _ truly have been looking forward to it.”

“Right…  _ we. _ ” Harry corrects with a tinkling little laugh. Professor Caithe can’t help but notice that despite the perfectly charming smile fixed upon her face, her left brow appears to be twitching. 

But Caithe, ever the picture of professionalism, pretends she didn’t see it and soldiered on; “Right, yes, well, let’s get to the matter at hand, shall we?” She crossed her legs, leaning on her desk. “Tom is an excellent student, as I’m sure you’ve heard from every single one of his teachers. He’s truly a joy to have in class.”

This too, proves to have an interesting reaction.

Harry smiled again, and this time it looked quite genuine. It was a smile she knew well— a pleased parent, equal parts overjoyed and relieved to hear their child was not only doing well, but excelling and not causing trouble. That being said, she did notice that, unlike other parents, Harry’s demeanor still spoke of a lingering fear, as if she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Professor Caithe wasn’t entirely sure what it could be; Tom was a very good student, academically, and beyond that was also a very good student, behaviorally. He wasn’t a bully, didn’t cause trouble in or out of class, and didn’t seem to have any issues socializing with his peers. He was a bit standoffish with them, yes, but that hadn’t stopped a bold few of them from glomming on to him anyway. 

Professor Caithe had, in all honesty, expected Tom’s conference to be the easiest one she’d have all week.

He was one of the rare students she— and all his other teachers— could truly say with confidence was a joy to have in class. He was attentive and participated in the lessons, always did his homework on time, and didn’t complain about group projects. He was a genius, but didn’t regularly fall asleep in class like the other genius in his class, John Wesley. He had no issues working with anyone in the class on projects, even the students who struggled with the materials, unlike Margaret Buchanan— another star pupil— who would eagerly complain to the principal if she was put on a project with anyone who’s grade point average was even a decimal lower than her own. He wasn’t rude or sometimes just plain mean to other students like Ruth Rogers, and didn’t have a superiority complex like James Washington. 

In summary, he had no concerning behavioral traits she had to find a diplomatic way of addressing with his parents. He had an inclination for overworking himself, but that wasn’t nearly as sensitive or difficult an issue to address as, say, trying to politely point out that someone’s darling, perfect, snowflake of a baby girl was actually a schoolyard bully. 

And yet, this meeting is the most awkward Professor Caithe had felt all week.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Miss Riddle returns, nodding. “And— he doesn’t exhibit any… unseemly tendencies? He’s not, erm, being too mean to other kids?” Caithe stares at her, mouth open in surprise. Miss Riddle catches her look of blatant shock, and hastily backtracks, “Well it’s just, you know, they’re at that age… kids sometimes don’t realize how unnecessarily cruel some of the things they do really are…”

“Yes, you’re right, children are sometimes far crueler than adults.” Caithe agrees, after recovering herself. “Forgive me, it’s just— usually that’s a difficult subject to approach with parents. I was just surprised you brought it up.”

Harry waves that off with a small laugh. “Oh, don’t worry about sugar coating things for me. I’m not the kind of parent that wants to hear platitudes.”

That was relieving to hear, honestly. All the same, Caithe is still ill at ease. After all,  _ Harry  _ might not care about what she says, but Lord Grindelwald…

The man is watching her silently, expression giving nothing away. If he wasn’t the Dark Lord, she would assume he was just like all other, well,  _ fathers  _ in this instance; the vast majority of the men were not overly involved in their family’s lives, usually leaving such tasks as child rearing largely to the woman of the household. Usually when they sat in this room with her, their expressions were of blank and utter disinterest, with their wives sitting next to them, near clutching their pearls and fretting anxiously over the teacher's examination of their precious baby. 

Harry was hardly a distressed mother fretting over every comment as a slight to her child, and Lord Grindelwald was hardly an apathetic and disinterested father. His expression might be carefully blank, but his eyes were too intense to be anything but fully attentive. 

Professor Caithe’s eyes flicker towards the man briefly, before she focuses back on Miss Riddle. “You have nothing to worry over, Miss Riddle. Tom might not be the most social butterfly in the garden, but he is hardly cruel or mean. And I would say he actually gets along quite well with most of his peers. I actually like to pair him up with some of my students who are struggling with the lesson. He’s always my top student, so he understands the material at such a level that he can explain it to his classmates. Miss Buchanan usually wants him to work with her, but I tend to separate known friend groups, so the kids can get to know new faces.” 

“Not that I don’t find the discussion on his social life  _ riveting, _ ” the Dark Lord cuts in with a droll. “But I find the subject of his academic abilities a bit more, ah, relevant to the topic at hand?” 

Caith flushes, realizing she might have digressed a bit more than intended. 

“The Professor is just giving me a holistic judgement on Tom’s life at school,” Miss Riddle retorts crisply, before Caithe can even formulate an apology. “Which is  _ exactly  _ what I asked her to do. It’s hardly  _ irrelevant _ .”

“Which is probably a question better posed to his guidance counselor than his necromancy professor, wouldn’t you say?” Lord Grindelwald returns coolly, brow raised. 

Miss Riddle crosses her arms and stands her ground. “Hardly. His counselor sees him all of thirty minutes a  _ school year.  _ His professors watch him day in and day out interact with both his peers and the school curriculum. If I want an accurate picture of both his social life and academic life, I’m better off asking his professors.”

Oh dear.

Well, married or not, they certainly _ argue _ like a married couple. Frankly, Professor Caithe is still quietly in awe that Miss Riddle can get away with that tone of voice with a man like him. 

Professor Caithe clears her throat. The two all but leap back from each other. Miss Riddle looks quite chastised and horrified at her own behavior, even Lord Grindelwald looks perhaps a bit embarrassed. 

“I’m perfectly happy to expand on either subject,” is her diplomatic response, honed from years of dealing with bickering married couples not unlike the two in front of her. 

“Thank you, professor.” Harry says, nodding her head. “Please, continue.” 

“Of course. Well, to speak a bit more on his scholarly pursuits, it goes without saying that he does very well in necromancy. I’d actually like to discuss options to perhaps accelerate his studies in that regard…”

“Absolutely.” The Dark Lord says.

Harry shoots him an aggrieved look. “How would this affect his placement in classes?” She asks, not looking nearly as enthused with the idea as Lord Grindelwald. “Would he need to be moved up a grade?”

“I can only speak for my own class, but I could discuss the idea with his other teachers,” Catihe offers. “If he excels as much as he does in my class, which I’m sure is true, it would be possible to have him moved to a more appropriate level of schooling.”

Lord Grindelwald nods, looking pleased. “An excellent idea, wouldn’t you say, Harry?”

Harry looks at him as if he’s grown three heads, or alternatively, like she’s deeply questioning why he’s even here at all. “No, I would not.” She retorts, with finality. He looks surprised, sitting up to frown her way. Harry ignores him, turning to Caithe. “I’m worried about his social growth if we pursued such an option. He’s already gotten to know his classmates, and has bonds with a few of them. I fear it would hinder his emotional development if they were taken away from him.”

“And what about his academic development? Do you suggest that it should just be left to the wayside?” The Dark Lord says in turn.

Harry shakes her head. “No, but perhaps there are less drastic actions that could be taken to make sure he gets the academic support he needs, while still maintaining his position as part of his class.”

Oh Circe. It looks like they went from one landmine and landed on another. Caithe wonders if she should interrupt them, or just let them work it out on their own. 

“Why does he need to be in this class, in particular? Surely he’d be fine in any class he’s put in.”

“You don’t know that.” Harry returns, waspishly. “Kids are fickle and mean creatures—

_ So true,  _ Caithe can’t help but silently lament 

“They might see him as a threat, or think he’s  _ too  _ special and treat him differently because of it.”

“He  _ is  _ special.” Lord Grindelwald points out. 

“That doesn’t mean he needs preferential treatment.” Harry adds. 

“Yes it  _ does. _ ”

“No it  _ does not. _ ” Harry sniffs, and looks away. “This is not up for debate. As his guardian, this is  _ my  _ decision. As of now, I would like to know what sort of alternative options are available before I make any decisions. Additionally, I’ll need to talk to Tom to see how he feels about this. Ultimately, I’m going to do whatever he thinks is best.”

The Dark Lord looks like he has  _ a lot  _ he wants to say to that, but somehow manages to refrain. Professor Caithe is impressed, frankly. She’d always heard he wasn't exactly known for his self restraint when he was angry, and he looks pretty pissed off right now. 

“Sorry about that, professor.” Harry segues, adopting a cheerful expression once more. “Please, continue.”

Caithe sighs internally. “Certainly.”

This hour can’t go by fast enough. 

//

“I can't  _ believe  _ you just barged you way into that…” Harry grumbles, once they are far, far away from the school and she finally feels like she can breathe again.

By her side, Gellert does not appear to be apologetic at all. In fact, he seems rather affronted. “Why wouldn’t I? I am to be his mentor, am I not? The assessment of his teachers is something I need to hear as well.”

“Yes, but— “ Harry sputters, face growing a rather bold shade of red. “But did you really have to—

“Have to what?” He repeats, brow furrowing.

Harry looks frustrated, but also refuses to make up her mind on a coherent sentence. Her mouth opens a few times, before shutting firmly. 

“What?” He repeats again, somewhat antagonistically. 

It’s just— he never seems to win with her. He could be on his best behavior for weeks on end and she’d still somehow find fault in it. He thought he had acted perfectly reasonable there, the picture-perfect gentleman. Certainly none of the professors complained over his questions or comments. 

“You couldn’t have just told them that?” Harry sighs, at long last, expression resigned.

“Told them what?” Gellert is still confused. What exactly is she so upset about, anyhow?

“That you were his mentor?”

He frowns, perplexed. “Why is that relevant information for them to know?”

The color on her cheeks expands, until even the tips of her ears were red. “Because— because otherwise they’re going to assume—

She cuts herself off, expression pinched. The Dark Lord watches the display, baffled. 

“You know what? It’s nothing, nevermind. Just please ask me before you decide to just show up to something that concerns me out of the blue like that.” 

“It is not, ‘nothing’.” Gellert denies, annoyed. Honestly. If Harry was upset with him, how was he supposed to fix his behavior if she wouldn’t tell him what he did to upset her in the first place? “Enlighten me. What have I done wrong this time?”

Harry looks like she’d rather be anywhere but here on a deserted street corner with him. 

She pivots smartly on one heel and begins to stalk in the opposite direction of him. Incensed, Gellert follows after her. 

“Harry! I asked you a question!”

“And I told you it is  _ nothing _ !” Harry insists.

“You wouldn’t act like this over nothing,” Gellert retorts, which is true and they both know it.

She comes to a sudden halt at the end of the block, and he almost runs into her. She’s rubbing her temples as if she has a raging headache. The look she gives him when she finally tilts her head up says that  _ he  _ is the reason for her raging headache. 

“Consider for a moment, how it might look to an outward party that  _ both _ of us are going to Tom’s  _ parent  _ teacher conferences?”

Gellert pauses.

Then it connects. 

Privately he is pleased. Outwardly, he just says, “That’s ridiculous, they’re professionals. I’m sure they can read between the lines.”

Harry thinks he has far too much faith in their professionalism. 

//

Professor Caithe all but flops down into her chair in the teacher’s room with all the grace of a dead flobberworm. She feels drained and exhausted like she’d just tried to summon a god of the underworld, and she still has one more conference left in the evening. 

“That bad, huh?”

Professor Logan is standing over her, two cups of coffee in hand. Caithe takes the proffered caffeine with a vague murmur of thanks.

“I’m happy I only have one left.” Professor Caithe replies, taking a sip. “How about you?” 

“It’s been a fine day of telling stodgy stuck up parents that their darling little snowflake is a gift to all of mankind,” Logan replies, drolly. 

Caithe hums in agreement, staring down into her cup. “Say, do you know if Lord Grindelwald and Miss Riddle are in a relationship?”

Logan, halfway into his own sip of coffee, chokes violently. “ _ Excuse me _ ?” He rasps, between coughs.

“Well— you saw them, didn’t you?” Her brow furrows, confused.

“ _ No. _ ” He replies, vehemently. “What do you mean?”

“Apparently they’re attending Tom’s conferences together…?” She watches his expression for any kind of recognition, but finds none. “You’re his homeroom teacher, are you not? Didn’t you see them?”

“I haven’t had Tom’s parents in yet— I, oh Circe,  _ the Dark Lord  _ is coming for his conference?” Logan sinks into his chair. “I need to prepare.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Caithe assures. “He was really quite reasonable— far better than most of those stodgy stuck up parents. They seemed genuinely interested in hearing an unbiased judgement of his strengths and weaknesses, not just empty platitudes.” _And arguing incessantly among themselves,_ she decides not to add. At any rate, at least they had the decency to argue with each other, instead of arguing with _her._

Logan isn’t even listening to her. “We’re doomed,” he says. 

“It was  _ fine. _ ” Caithe stresses. “And anyway, this is beside the point. I was asking whether or not Miss Riddle was in a relationship with him, but clearly you don’t know.”

“Miss Riddle is in a relationship with  _ who _ ?” Professor Oz, teacher of Conjuration and self-proclaimed Harry Riddle fanboy since day one, cuts in, aghast. 

Caithe looks up to see the man looking rather frazzled and slightly possessed, leaning over her desk. 

“No one,” she replies, curtly, because it’s not really any of their business.

Of course, Logan has no compunctions. “Lord Grindelwald.” He reveals, drily, downing his coffee.

“What? No!” Oz gasps. “I would have heard of such things, if it were true!”

“Then why do you suggest they’re attending Tom’s conferences together?” Logan rebukes, shrugging. 

“What do you mean, they are attending his conferences together?” Oz repeats, shocked. “Together?  _ Together?  _ Why are they coming together?”

“The question of the hour.” Logan raises his mug in salute.

“We don’t know,” Caithe replies, patiently. “I was merely asking if they have some sort of, oh, I don’t know,  _ agreement  _ I should be aware of, as his teacher.”

“And what sort of  _ agreement  _ could you possibly be suggesting?” Oz rounds on her, voice high. His usual rather princely appearance has been completely disregarded for a more frantic and hysterical look, but Caithe can hardly blame him. Parent-teacher conference week will do that to a person. And then he finds out that the love of his life is attending her ward’s meetings with someone else? Just blasphemy. “Nothing indecent, I would hope.”

“Of course not,” Caithe retorts, shortly. 

Although, now that she’s thinking on it, it really wouldn’t be  _ that  _ out of the ordinary now would it? 

“I merely meant to suggest that perhaps Lord Grindelwald has shown interest in him as an apprentice of some sort? He is a talented necromancer in his own right, and Tom is most likely going to be one of the best of his generation.”

“But why would the Dark Lord take notice of some unknown boy with no pedigree to speak of?” Oz points out. Then he stills, eyes wide. “Unless… unless he is not some unknown boy after all!”

Caithe frowns. “I really don’t think that’s…” 

The sound of the door opening behind her distracts her. It’s Dr. Sodhi, looking just as world-weary as the rest of them. 

“Dr. Sodhi!” Professor Oz cries in dismay, to the Ancient Magics professor who just walked in. “Did you know Tom Riddle is Lord Grindelwald’s  _ son _ ?”

Caithe smacks her own forehead.

_ This is exactly how bad rumors get started.  _ She laments. 

And thus, Professor Caithe stops being a full-time Necromancy professor, and has instead turned into the school’s part time gossip-monger. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> not that this is relevant, at all, but I imagine Dr. Oz looks like time-skip Ferdinand von Aegir from Fire Emblem, hair and full regalia and pegasus and all lol


End file.
